Preferred stock of AXIS Capital — global specialty insurance and reinsurance underwriter. $5.5B equity, $32.5B total assets. Insurance (professional, property, cyber, marine) and reinsurance. | AGI Score: 4/10 | P/TB: 0.28x | Analysis date: 2026-03-13
Preferred stock trading at 0.28x book value of the COMMON equity it sits on top of. Preferred stock has priority over common in liquidation and dividends. At 0.28x, you're getting a senior claim on $5.5B of insurance company equity for 28 cents on the dollar.
Preferred stock of AXIS Capital — global specialty insurance and reinsurance underwriter. $5.5B equity, $32.5B total assets. Insurance (professional, property, cyber, marine) and reinsurance.
Sector: Insurance (Preferred) | Employees: 1,966
Category: Labor Margin Play
Insurance underwriting is cognitive labor that AGI automates: risk assessment, pricing, claims processing. AGI will dramatically reduce operational costs. However, the industry has weak pricing power—competitive markets will force insurers to pass savings to customers via lower premiums. Cyber insurance demand may rise (AGI-powered attacks) but so does risk (harder to model). The regulatory moat (capital requirements, licenses) provides some protection. Data is not a true moat—historical claims data is widely available. Net outcome: cost savings mostly passed through, modest benefit.
Preferred stock = fixed dividend + liquidation preference over common. At 0.28x book, the margin of safety is enormous. Insurance company equity is mostly invested bonds — liquid, measurable. Even in severe loss scenarios, preferred is protected by $5.5B of common equity.
Preferred stock has limited upside (fixed dividend). Insurance catastrophe risk (though reinsurance mitigates). Interest rate risk — preferred prices fall when rates rise. Regulatory risk in Bermuda domicile. Company could call the preferred at par.
| Metric | FY2016 | FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4B | $5B | $5B | $5B | $5B | $5B | $5B | $6B | $6B | $7B |
| Net Income | $131M | $-38M | $-198M | $-10M | $-5M | $588M | $193M | $346M | $1B | $979M |
| Operating Income | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating Cash Flow | $407M | $259M | $11M | $199M | $344M | $1B | $692M | $1B | $2B | $-41M |
| CapEx | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total Assets | $21B | $25B | $24B | $26B | $26B | $27B | $28B | $30B | $33B | $34B |
| Stockholders Equity | $6B | $5B | $5B | $6B | $5B | $5B | $5B | $5B | $6B | $6B |
| Shares Outstanding | 90,772,000 | 84,108,000 | 83,501,000 | 83,894,000 | 84,262,000 | 84,707,000 | 84,864,000 | 85,142,000 | 84,165,000 | 78,192,000 |
| Free Cash Flow* | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Share Count Change | — | -7.3% | -0.7% | +0.5% | +0.4% | +0.5% | +0.2% | +0.3% | -1.1% | -7.1% |
*FCF = Operating Cash Flow - CapEx
| Balance Sheet Item | Latest FY |
|---|---|
| Total Assets | $34B |
| PP&E (net) | — |
| Cash & Equivalents | $820M |
| Goodwill | $66M |
| Intangible Assets | $166M |
| Total Liabilities | $34B |
| Long-Term Debt | — |
| Stockholders Equity | $6B |
| Tangible Book Value | $6B |
Goodwill: $66M — this is a real risk; if written down, equity shrinks
Intangible Assets: $166M
PP&E: Not reported — limited physical asset base
Tangible Book Value: $6B ($82.79 per share)
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Book Value / Share | $85.94 | Stockholders equity / shares |
| Tangible Book Value / Share | $82.79 | Equity minus goodwill & intangibles |
| Price / Revenue | 1.18x | Market cap / TTM revenue |
| OCF Yield | -0.5% | Operating cash flow / market cap |
| FCF Yield | -167.7% | Free cash flow / market cap |
| Floor Price Estimate (60% TBV) | $49.68 | Conservative: 60% of tangible book value per share |
Tangible Book Value per share: $82.79
Conservative Floor (60% of TBV): $49.68 — At this price, you are buying hard assets at 60 cents on the dollar with margin of safety.
Current price $100.90 is above tangible book value ($82.79).
ITEM 1. BUSINESS In this Form 10-K, references to "AXIS Capital" refer to AXIS Capital Holdings Limited and references to "we", "us", "our", "AXIS", the "Group" or the "Company" refer to AXIS Capital Holdings Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries and branches, including: AXIS Specialty Holdings Bermuda Limited, AXIS Specialty Limited ("AXIS Specialty Bermuda"), AXIS Specialty Limited (Singapore Branch), AXIS Specialty Insurance Limited ("AXIS Specialty Insurance Bermuda"), AXIS Specialty Investments Limited, AXIS Specialty Investments II Limited, AXIS Specialty UK Holdings Limited, AXIS Managing Agency Ltd., AXIS Corporate Capital UK Limited (corporate member that provided 70% capital support to AXIS Syndicate 1686 ("Syndicate 1686") through December 31, 2024), Novae Group Limited, AXIS UK Services Limited, AXIS UK Services Limited (Irish Branch), AXIS Underwriting Limited, AXIS Corporate Capital UK II Limited (corporate member that provided 30% capital support to Syndicate 1686 through December 31, 2024 and 100% capital support to Syndicate 1686 effective January 1, 2025 and 100% capital support to AXIS Energy Transition Syndicate 2050 ("Syndicate 2050")), AXIS ILS, Ltd., AXIS Reinsurance Managers Limited ("AXIS Reinsurance Managers"), AXIS Specialty Holdings Ireland Limited, AXIS Specialty Europe SE ("AXIS Specialty Europe"), AXIS Specialty Europe SE (UK Branch), AXIS Specialty Europe SE (Belgium Branch), AXIS Re SE, AXIS Re SE, Dublin (Zurich Branch) ("AXIS Re
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS The following is a discussion and analysis of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and our financial condition at December 31, 2024 and 2023. This should be read in conjunction with Item 8 ' Financial Statements and Supplementary Data' of this report. Unless otherwise noted, tabular dollars are in thousands, except per share amounts. Amounts may not reconcile due to rounding differences. Page 2024 Financial Highlights 59 Overview 60 Consolidated Results of Operations 63 Results by Segment: i) Insurance Segment 65 ii) Reinsurance Segment 69 Net Investment Income and Net Investment Gains (Losses) 73 Other Expenses (Revenues), Net 76 Financial Measures 78 Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliation 80 Cash and Investments 84 Liquidity and Capital Resources 91 Critical Accounting Estimates 97 i) Reserve for Losses and Loss Expenses 98 ii) Reinsurance Recoverable on Unpaid Losses and Loss Expenses 104 iii) Gross Premiums Written 105 iv) Net Premiums Earned 107 v) Fair Value Measurements of Financial Assets and Liabilities 108 vi) Impairment Losses and the Allowance for Expected Credit Losses - Fixed Maturities, Available for Sale 109 Recent Accounting Pronouncements 110 58 2024 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 2024 Consolidated Results of Operations • Net income available to common shareholders of $1.1 billion , or $12.49 per common share, and $12.35 per dilut
What assets exist? Limited physical assets reported. Total assets of $34B Tangible book value of $6B. Goodwill of $66M is a risk.
Are buybacks real? No significant buybacks reported.
Is the business durable? Insurance (Preferred) with AGI score 4/10. Low AGI disruption risk — physical business that AGI does not easily replace.
What is the floor? At $49.68 (60% of TBV), downside is limited by hard assets. Current price $100.90 is above the floor estimate.
Data sources: SEC EDGAR XBRL, yfinance, 10-K filing extracts, AGI scoring framework. Analysis date: 2026-03-13.